The city of Sheffield is located in the county of South Yorkshire, in the north of England, and centrally within the UK as you can see from the map alongside.

It has very good road and rail links, and is only a few hours from either London in the south or Edinburgh in Scotland, further to the north.

Sheffield is a geographically diverse city. The city sits in a "bowl" created by several hills and the meeting of five rivers: Sheaf (after which the city is named), Don, Rivelin, Loxley and Porter. This means that much of the city is built on hillsides with views into the city centre or out to the countryside - the Derbyshire Peak District (a place of great natural beauty) is just minutes away.

It is estimated that Sheffield contains over two million trees, meaning that the city has more trees per person than any other city in Europe. Sheffield City Council lays claim to it being England's greenest city - a claim that was reinforced when it won the 2005 Entente Florale competition. It has over 170 woodlands (covering nearly 11 square miles), 78 public parks (just over 7 square miles) and 10 public gardens. Added to the 52 square miles of national park and just over 4 square miles of water this means that 61% of the city is greenspace. Sheffield also has a very wide variety of habitat, comparing favourably with any city in the United Kingdom: urban, parkland and woodland, agricultural and arable land, moors, meadows and freshwater-based habitats. There are six areas within the city that are designated as sites of special scientific interest.

The many parks and open spaces are readily accessible, the rivers running through the city give opportunity for walks and relaxation.

Sheffield is a thriving, growing city with plenty to do whether here with your family, or on your own.

Sheffield has the facilties you would expect of any modern, major city, including :-

several shopping malls, with excellent shops

plenty of good quality restaurants with the food of many nations represented

plenty of good coffee shops within the malls and the city itself

plenty of concert and live music venues, including major acts appearing at the arena

two Universities, totalling about 50,000 student places. We have very strong links with Sheffield University, and they offer us free and low cost courses

casinos - Sheffield has 3 casinos, all of which have very good restaurants. Membership is necessary before entry, although you can join at the time of your first visit, and you don't need membership to use the restaurants.

It has a strong industrial history and was once a famous 'steel town'. The local economy has now diversified into other industries and the service sector. The centre is thriving and modern, with many new developments. It does however retain the city's character and some buildings of great history and beauty.